Step Inside This Swoon-Worthy Southern Farmhouse Filled with Local Art and Antiques
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After a repeat client and dear friend reached out about taking on a new-build project on her family’s land in Mansfield, Georgia, designer Elizabeth Cooper couldn’t wait to put together a home that showcased more of the wife’s southern heritage while still feeling appropriate for the family’s artistic, contemporary lifestyle.
Though the couple wanted to remain in the Bay Area full time, they envisioned a destination to spend holidays, long weekends, and long stretches in the summers with loved ones, so comfort and conviviality were high on the priority list. Guests needed to be comfortable enough to plop on a sofa after a morning of hunting, fishing, or riding on the property and sip a cup of coffee or a cocktail. However, Cooper says the client could be an architect or designer, and she had a strong vision for the place that carried them through the design, though Cooper did push the clients to lean more southern with this property.
“They very much had a general vision of what they wanted the home to feel like, and it needed to be respectful of nature and the surrounding land, as well as harmonious with the other houses on the property,” says Cooper. “The wife spent a lot of time and created a lot of special memories in the grandmother’s house where there was wallpaper in every bedroom, so we wanted to replicate details like that, just in our own way.”
Naturally, Cooper leaned into traditional southern design for much of the inspiration, as the family has more of a mid-century style home in the Bay Area and she wanted to go in a completely different direction.
Part of achieving that contextual elegance and continuity was leaning into regional designers, such as Lulie Wallace, whose botanical wallpaper adorns one of the daughter’s rooms, and shopping the incredible antiques markets in nearby Atlanta such as Scott’s, Madison Antiques Market & Interiors, and Englishman’s Fine Furnishings.
Cooper says one of her favorite memories of the project was going antiques shopping with the client, and her mother in Atlanta, which she says was when they found a number of key items for the home.
“It was really a collaborative process with the client, and our starting point was maintaining a really serene, but not neutral, palette,” says Cooper.
“The front rooms are this warm ivory color that sets a subtle backdrop. I was envisioning more chintz or something for the living spaces in more neutral tones, but the client wanted to keep it simple, so we went with a pair of neutral sofas and layered on pattern and interest from there with lots of non-matching pillows and curtain panels, and that really set the tone.”
While the home certainly feels like a proper southern residence, it does lend itself a more breezy, well-edited point of view that feels right in line with the California-based family. And the house is peppered with a curation of artworks selected by the wife, who is an art advisor and involved with several non-profits arts organizations in Northern California.
“She really chose most of the art for the house, and I think it adds so much to every space,” Cooper says. “Sometimes juxtaposing more modern pieces, such as in the primary bedroom, adds so much more interest to more traditional-leaning rooms, and it also shows her breadth of knowledge. Everything looks beautiful without feeling like it's trying too hard to work.”
However, the wife isn’t the only one with an artistic touch. Cooper says that many of the items in the home were handmade by family members on both sides, including their children. Mixed with southern antiques, the wife’s curated artwork, and an assortment of items from California-based destinations such as Nickey Kehoe, this home simply couldn’t belong to anyone else.
It is a distinct representation of its owners throughout, while playing up the southern vernacular in clever ways that allowed them to step outside their comfort zone a bit aesthetically. By the end of the project, they even let Cooper add a pop of chintz in a Bob Collins & Sons fabric on the vintage Italian rattan chairs. This room ended up being one of Cooper’s favorite spaces in the house, along with the jewel-box study and the primary bedroom.
EXTERIOR
Cooper teamed up with Atlanta-based architect Chris Hamilton of Dovetail Craftsmen and local builder Jimmie Oglesby to create this stunning new build that feels perfectly suited to this historic family property.
FRONT ENTRY
A mix of antique finds from 1st Dibs and nearby markets, along with accents from Nickey Kehoe, John Derian, and Fritz Porter set a well-collected welcome space. Botanical photographs, Kija Lucas.
FAMILY ROOM
A pair of Serena & Lily sofas get a farmhouse touch with an eclectic mix of accent pillows in florals, plaids, and grain sack cloth. Coffee table, Mecox. Curtain panels fabric, Claremont.
DINING ROOM
There's plenty of space for the whole family to gather in the heart of this home, thanks to a generously sized Nickey Kehoe dining table and antique Windsor chairs from Englishman's Fine Furnishings. Ceiling light fixture, Urban Electric Co.
KITCHEN
Pottery Barn counter stools ensure the kitchen can serve as a proper dining space for large or more casual meals. The artwork is by famed Gee's Bend quilter Mary Lee Bendolph.
STUDY
A jewel-toned green by Portola Paints envelops this space in a layer of coziness. Sofa and pouf fabric, Holland & Sherry. Desk, Lawson Fenning.
REAR ENTRY/MUD ROOM
A vintage decorative pillow and rope light from 1stDibs, along with an antique sink and powder room mirror by John Derian, infuse this space with a sense of yesteryear provenance.
DAUGHTER'S BEDROOM
This charming bedroom space features a Serena & Lily headboard covered in a Claremont pink fabric. Scalloped boudoir pillows, D. Porthault. Bedside table, Madison Antiques Market & Interiors.
DAUGHTER'S BEDROOM
The space is swathed in a Lulie Wallace wallcovering. Decorative pillow, Lisa Fine Textiles. Sconce, Vaughan Designs.
DAUGHTER'S BEDROOM
This second children's bedroom is covered in a Studio Printworks floral paper and features a family heirloom brass bed. Quilt, Nest San Francisco. Ceiling light fixture, Schoolhouse.
PRIMARY BEDROOM
The primary bedroom features a bit of midcentury flair, thanks to the Danish oak and rattan bed (1st Dibs) and vintage quilt. The wallpaper is by Birger Kaipiainen, and the painting is by Caroline Kent.
PRIMARY BATHROOM
This inviting primary bathroom is the perfect spot for unwinding from a day full of activities. The floor tile is by Waterworks and the ceiling light fixture is RW Guild. Bath linens, Matouk.
SCREENED PORCH
This family-favorite space is perfect for enjoying 365 days a year, no matter the weather. The antique Scandinavian wicker settee is from Obsolete. Antique trunk coffee table, William Word Antiques.
“The primary bedroom is one of my favorites because it blends this rusty terracotta color with these mid-century modern pieces and the Scandinavian wallpaper,” says Cooper. “Plus, that chest of drawers is one of the prettiest things I’ve ever sourced with the inlay detail.”
The final product is a property that any of their loved ones could feel right at home in upon arrival. Cooper says that architect Chris Hamilton and local builder and craftsman Jimmie Oglesby helped fine-tune their vision to create a place that felt contextual to the area, and he created beautiful plasterwork to make the home feel older than it is.
Coupled with Cooper’s brilliant blend of diverse, well-collected elements that represent the family’s various interests and iterations establishes a one-of-a-kind residence that is sure to serve as an idyllic backdrop for Easter brunches, Christmas Eve feasts, and birthday celebrations for decades to come.
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